Of Collars and Belonging
by daily-chan
Summary: What happens when a Muggle Dog Catcher catches Sirius during some Padfoot play time with Remus in the park. Friendship fic, Marauder era.


Of Collars and Belonging.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. If I did, neither Sirius nor Remus would have ever died._

_The characters are probably a bit out of character so be warned.  
_

_Remus/ Sirius friendship. Though you could probably read it as slash if you wish too._

_Remember, I believe that Sirius comes from an abusive home so don't flame me for my believes and saying it's inaccurate…we don't know if it is. But from things mentioned and knowing what the rest of the Black family is like…I believe it's a pretty accurate guess._

_I also know that Sirius does not wear anything around his neck in Canon, but that's why this is fan fiction._

_Also, please don't throw me flames over Sirius and Remus' eyes. I follow the books and in the books they have grey and green eyes. Not blue like they have in the movies. If you don't believe me then check Harry Potter Wiki. It's all displayed there._

_It is also a known fact, as well in the movies that Remus is taller than Sirius by at least a full head. So please stop asking me why I made Sirius less tall than Remus, that's because he actually is less tall._

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Of Collars and Belonging.

Years later Remus would say it was a miracle it hadn´t happened before. Hours later they would already share a huge laugh over the story.

But that would be in the future and right now he was anything but amused about things.

It had been the day of a full moon like any other, utterly painful, exhausting and lonely.

At least, the full moon´s spend in his parent's basement usually were exactly those as his friend's couldn´t exactly accompany him home for the full moon and Remus had decided to go home this Christmas.

James was spending it with his family, some ball or so he had to attend as the sole Potter heir. Remus wasn´t entirely sure what the exact occasion was but he had sounded excited about it for a change.

Peter always went home for every holiday and Sirius had been obligated to return home this Christmas, his mother insisted. He was about as excited about being forced to spend time with his family as Remus himself was about the full moon.

And so Remus himself had decided he didn´t want to spend Christmas all alone at Hogwarts and traveled home to his parents, resigning himself to spend a lonely full moon in the basement like he´d done while growing up.

However, when he had slowly gotten ready to go to the basement a huge, very familiar black dog had appeared out of nowhere and jumped up to him while wiggling his tail happily.

To say his parents had been surprised by his arrival would be an understatement and Remus himself hadn´t been much better.

"What are you doing here Padfoot?" He asked surprised, though he couldn't stop the relieved smile from crossing over his features.

The dog easily turned into his closest friend and amused grey eyes looked up at his as Sirius rose to his feet.

"Do you really need to ask?" The dark haired boy asked with a wide grin.

Remus hadn't been capable of keeping his own grin from spreading.

"But what about your parents? Won't they get mad that you came here?" He asked, worry in his voice. He had the displeasure of meeting his friend's parents up close once and knew how brutal they were to their oldest son. He didn't want to be the cause for any consequences Sirius might face by slipping out to see him.

Sirius shrugged while waving him off.

"I'll deal with that when it comes to that. I wasn't about to let you face the full moon on your own when there's no need for it." He smiled at Remus before his grey eyes shifted from him with a slight nervousness and Remus followed his gaze to let them catch the quiet shocked forms of his parents and he blushed as he realized he had completely forgot about them.

He took Sirius by the arm and moved to his parents.

"Mum, dad. You've met Sirius at the platform before." He said with a smile as Sirius held out his hand.

His mother broke out of her shock first and shook her head before a warm kind smile spread over her lips as she ignored the held out hand and pulled the startled boy into a hug.

"Of course, it is nice to see you again Sirius" She said once she let go of him again and Sirius broke out of his own momentum shock to smile up at her.

Remus bit back a laugh, his mother was very free with her hugs and even after six years of being at the receiving end of them every time they met at the platform, Sirius still wasn't entirely used to them. Affection was something James and himself had taken upon themselves to slowly, very slowly introduce to the young Black heir. As something as simple as compliments, a comforting hand on a shoulder or even a plain friendly hug were completely alien to their best friend.

Both their mothers made it a point to capture their friend into a tight hug at any given chance after their learned about it, which never seized to startle Sirius and never stopped making Remus and James laugh.

"Sorry to have startled you Mrs. Lupin. But I wasn't sure I'd make it in time." Sirius apologized pleasantly and Remus' father laughed.

"It is quite alright. Remus told us about what you boys have done for him. We just hadn't expected to ever actually see one of you here like that." He said and Sirius turned to him with a smile still on his face.

"He probably also asked you to keep it a secret as we aren't strictly following the law by what we did." He asked and both adults smiled

"We've sworn we will never tell a living soul." Mrs. Lupin said with a smile and Sirius nodded.

"We should get you two downstairs." She added and they had made their way down, Remus with a lot of relief in his heart as his parents chatted happily with Sirius.

He really hadn't looked forward to spending the full moon alone and Sirius' unexpected arrival made him both happy and grateful to his friend.

Soon they were both locked up in the basement and after the painful transformation had passed Moony and Padfoot had spent the night playing together. Tag and play fights were normal for both of them so when Remus became alert after transforming back he wasn't at all surprised to find he was covered in small minor scratches and sore.

It also wasn't really a surprise to find that although he was lying in his own bed, covered with his warm blankets, he was alone. Sirius nowhere in sight.

His friend was probably downstairs and after he quickly dressed and went downstairs he found him sitting at the dinner table, looking through a magazine while sipping of a cup of what smelled like hot chocolate.

He smiled at him when greeted and Remus sat down besides Sirius while his friend poured him a cup too.

Remus turned to his friend to check him over for any sign of injuries as he usually did after a full moon and Sirius automatically turned to face him, pushing his sleeves up, giving Remus a clear view of his arms and neck. He didn't even bother sighing over his friend's concern and Remus smiled at the act as his eyes traveled over minor scratches on Sirius' lower arms, that were no worse than his own but he frowned as his eyes settled on what had clearly been a bite mark low in Sirius neck. He brushed his finger against the small mark; it had clearly been healed by his mother already and from the sight of it, it wouldn't even leave a scar. Not that Sirius would care.

Just one more to add to his collection, no big deal. He knew that would be Sirius' answer if a scar would form.

A collection that in Remus' opinion was already much too large as it was. He wasn't a werewolf and yet Sirius body was covered in far more scars than even Remus' own was. Most of them courtesy of his dear family, Remus was sure of that.

During first year he had caught glimpses of Sirius' body while he was changing now and then, it was almost impossible not to when you lived with four boy's in the same room for most of the year and Remus would know, since he spend most of that first year trying to hide his own scars from the others.

But where there had been plenty at the start of their first year at Hogwarts, their numbers tripled rapidly as each summer vacation passed by and they came back for another year at Hogwarts.

And James and he had both devoted a lot of time to learn as much healing spells as they could. Sirius wouldn't talk much to them about his home life, wouldn't even let them try and help but he eventually let them help heal the wounds he himself couldn't reach on his back and if he was exhausted enough after arriving at Hogwarts they helped cover for him in classes.

It was very lucky that Sirius was as brilliant as he was so that even when he was not paying any attention in class he could still perform anything the professors asked from him without breaking a sweat or getting in trouble.

After his friends had started joining him on the full moon as Animagus last year the scars littering Sirius' body only became more and though they were small and Sirius always claimed they didn't bother him in the slightest Remus always felt guilty for any scar he caused any of them.

He sighed as he pulled back his hand from tracing the small mark in Sirius' neck.

"Sorry" He said apologizing and Sirius grinned his radiant and trademark smile as he shrugged.

"How would you feel about going to the park with Padfoot for a while?" Sirius asked unexpectedly, completely brushing over Remus' apology. And Remus couldn't help but smile, it truly was like his friend to act like that.

"Do you actually have the energy left to run around?" He asked amazed and Sirius laughed.

"Yeah. I'll probably not have a chance to leave my room again this vacation so I better make the most of it now while I can and spend the rest of the week sleeping." He answered and Remus nodded as he finished his drink quickly so they could leave.

Sirius bounced up from his seat and while Remus slipped on his shoes and coat Sirius changed back into Padfoot before they made their way outside.

Sirius happily bounced around Remus and he couldn't help but laugh as he grabbed a large stick upon reaching the park and wiggled his tail excitedly at Remus.

"Alright, just make sure you don't fall into the lake chasing that stick alright. It was hard enough to get you out the first time" He said and Sirius barked cheerfully.

Remus threw the stick as far as he could and watched amused as Sirius chased after it without any hesitation.

Sirius was always full of energy and when he changed into Padfoot that energy seemed to triple.

They played fetch for a while as Remus calmly walked through the park when he noticed Sirius had left his gaze for longer than normal.

Usually Sirius didn't stray too far from them if they played.

"Padfoot?" He called out, using his enhanced hearing to try and pick up a sound of his friend.

Nothing.

"Padfoot!" He called out again, a bit louder and this time he was answered with a panicked bark. A barking that didn't stop and growling added the barking, making Remus' heart clench in his throat.

As fast as he could Remus ran towards the sound, but stopped dead upon the scene he stumbled on.

A large rope, attached to a metal stick was around Padfoot's neck and Sirius was growling and barking as he tried to break free.

A large man in a grey uniform was holding the stick tight and pulling on it, making the rope cut into the dog's neck harshly as Sirius fought as hard as he could to break free from it.

He looked panicked and Remus suddenly recognized the man's uniform as a Muggle dog catcher.

"Oh no." Sirius couldn't change back in front of the man, which make the panicked barking he did easy to understand as the dog catcher managed to pull Sirius towards a large van.

"Wait! ...That's my dog!" He didn't hesitate to call out as he ran forward, grabbing the rope that was cutting into Sirius' neck and trying to loosen it before it could hurt him more.

"That dog is not wearing a collar young man, I have to take him to the shelter and put him down if you cannot prove you are his owner." The dog catcher said and Remus froze for a moment before Sirius' whining had him moving again.

"I …I haven't had him for very long yet but I assure you he is mine." Remus said as he managed to calm Sirius down enough that he stopped pulling and wrapped an arm around Sirius' neck to keep him still.

"Can you prove that he is yours?" The dog catcher asked and Remus hesitated.

"I don't have any papers…but he will come to me when I call him." He said, hoping Sirius wouldn't bolt in sheer panic the moment the rope got lose as he whined again.

The dog catcher raised an eyebrow.

"I am afraid I cannot let you prove it like that. The dog is too likely to run off again if I loosen the rope. Where is his collar and tag?"

"I don't have any yet." Remus admitted, desperately trying to catch Sirius' attention because he didn't know how he'd get him out of there and really needed Sirius' help.

"Calm down Padfoot." He said, trying to sound calmingly and brushed his hand over Sirius' ears. Dark eyes turned his way as Sirius finally seemed to calm down enough to realize what was going on.

"Please don't take him sir, I promise you I will get a collar for him today." Remus assured him as he looked up at the dog catcher. Sirius shifted closer to him and pushed his face against Remus' arm.

The dog catcher looked at the two and sighed.

"I am not allowed to just let you go with an unchained dog that has no collar." He hesitated before sighing again. "I can however take you into town and let you buy a collar under my watchful eye to proof you indeed own this dog."

Remus glanced at Sirius who even in his dog form seemed to look confused before quickly nodding and turning to Sirius, whispering to him.

"Just follow my lead and listen to what I say. I'll explain later."

If buying a collar would be the way to keep Sirius from being taken away before he could change back then he'd do exactly that. They could easily take it off again once he changed back.

Sirius answered by licking his nose and Remus nodded as he whipped his nose off.

The dogcatcher moved forward and tied a rope around Sirius' neck, removing the other one and gave the rope to Remus.

"Let's go then lad." He said and Remus nodded, moving towards the car and feeling relieved when Sirius followed him without hesitation.

Sirius put his head onto Remus' legs once they were in the car and curled up beside him, playing the role of the good obedient dog without a problem.

Remus placed a hand on Sirius' head and looked at him.

A dog catcher was a Muggle thing. Wizards didn't really have dogs, at least James had told them it was very rare for a wizard to have a dog as a pet, they were seem as a bad omen. So Sirius, as a pureblood, wouldn't understand the Muggle rules about pets like dogs and cats. The concept of a collar would be foreign to him and he wouldn't recognize the dog catcher for what he was when seeing him.

No wonder he had panicked so completely. He didn't have any idea of what was going on and probably thought he was being kidnapped. Remus was glad that Sirius trusted him enough to just follow him and hoped he wouldn't freak out when he had to put a collar around him, for however temporarily it would be.

All too soon they arrived in the town and the dog catcher led them to an animal shop. Stepping inside Remus could practically see Sirius' wonder and amazement at the things displayed.

"Pick a collar lad and don't forget to add a tag." The dog catcher warned and Remus nodded. He glanced at the many collars' that were on display.

He didn't know why, but he wanted to buy a nice one for Sirius. Which made absolutely no sense to him as they'd get rid of it within moments of arriving home again. He hesitated as his hands brushed over a cheap blue one before his eyes glanced at a black one a row lower.

But what if Sirius wanted to keep the collar in case a situation like this ever arose again. Remus didn't want his friend to be that frightened ever again. And he knew he had been, even if Sirius himself would never admit it. And if Sirius was going to be wearing a collar a Padfoot on occasion Remus wanted it to be a nice one.

With that thought in mind he picked up the black one. It was a bit more expensive than the blue one had been, but it was also plainer and he knew that Sirius would appreciate it more.

He glanced down at Sirius, only to find his doggie friend staring up at him with a look of what could only be described as utter amusement in his eyes and Remus felt his cheeks heat up as he realized he'd been staring at the collars for a couple of minutes.

He cleared his throat, forced his gaze away from the dog and walked to the cashier, Sirius close on his heels.

"Do you want to have a tag added?" The cashier asked and Remus glanced at the dog catcher, who was waiting patiently near the door before nodding.

"Yes please."

"What do you want it to say?" And Remus blinked.

"Eh…Padfoot." He answered and Sirius' barked with what Remus was sure was laughter in dog language.

"So you are Padfoot huh, good boy" The cashier easily petted Sirius for a moment before asking how it was spelled and adding it into the computer.

"You address, we wouldn't want this cutie to get lost from you wouldn't we?"

Remus flushed as he stuttered out his address, refusing to look down at Sirius who was no doubt looking at him with confusion and a hint of amusement. He wouldn't understand why Remus felt embarrassed. And if he were honest, Remus himself didn't really understand either. Sirius was his best friend; there was rarely a situation that Remus was shy from his friend. But he was about to put a tag onto Sirius' neck that basically claimed him as his own.

And although it was only to get the dog catcher of their backs and they'd take if off soon enough he couldn't help but feel slightly nervous about it. Though he couldn't really understand why.

Sirius was at best unpredictable in his actions; he might even show the collar around to James and Peter and tease him endlessly about it after telling them the tale.

"There you go lad." The cashier said a good while later and moved to Sirius to put the collar on his neck. Sirius rose on his four feet and growled at him, moving slightly behind Remus while doing so.

"Ah, I don't think he's very happy with me trying to put it on." The cashier said easily and handed the collar to Remus.

"Sorry, he's normally a very sweet dog, but he just had a dog catcher trying to rope him up." Remus answered, dreading the fight Sirius might put up now that it came to it.

He kneeled down by Sirius and held up the collar. To his surprise Sirius sat down before him and gave him full access to his neck, letting him take of the rope and slip the collar on without a problem.

Once it was on Sirius licked his hand and Remus crawled him behind the ear for a moment before standing up again. He quickly paid for the collar and tag and moved towards the dog catcher again but Sirius whined, turning his attention back to him.

Remus blinked as Sirius moved to him with a leash in his mouth, which was attached to his collar by the cashier.

"You forgot your leash; he won't let me hold it though." The cashier said, the smile never leaving his face and Remus quickly took the leash from Sirius.

"Thanks."

"All set lad? I'll give you a ride back." The dog catcher asked and Remus nodded, muttering his thanks as Sirius walked beside him without seemingly a care in the world.

Not long after they were dropped off in front of Remus' house and they quickly moved inside where his parents stared at the two of them in surprise.

"Why is Sirius on a leash?" His mother asked carefully while Remus unhooking the leash from Sirius.

Once the leash was off Sirius changed back and touched the black collar that now framed his neck.

"What the heck was that all about?" He asked and Remus couldn't keep the snort from escaping him at the perplex expression on his face.

He quickly told the tale to his parents, adding in the bits of information about Muggle laws for Sirius so he understood too.

Once he was done Sirius let out his trade mark barking laugh.

"I hadn't the foggiest idea what that guy was talking about. I've never heard of a collar before, but you said you'd handle it so I figured you knew what he meant. No offense Mrs. Lupin, but Muggles are weird."

They all laughed and with a few words both boy's quickly went upstairs to Remus' room.

They sat down on Remus bed and he glanced at the collar Sirius was still wearing.

"You want me to take it off for you?" He asked, gesturing to the collar.

Sirius smiled as he glanced at himself in the mirror. "You know, I think I'll keep it on, it's rather catchy don't you think?"

Remus looked at him, biting back a snort. "It's a collar, with your nickname, and my address on it. Wouldn't you feel like…owned?" He asked carefully.

Sirius smiled as he shrugged. "Not really. I like my nickname, and for your address…. I don't know, it kind of makes me feel happy. Like I have a home to go to if things ever get too much at my relatives house." He said, not looking at Remus as he said the last part but smiling slightly.

"You are always welcome here Siri, even if things don't get too much. You know that right?" Remus said softly as he looked at his friend. He heard the words that Sirius hadn't said, but had implied perfectly. He didn't think of his family's house as his home at all.

Sirius' smile widened a bit and his grey eyes looked up into Remus own green ones and his thoughts were confirmed.

"I know, and this…tag you called it?" He asked and after Remus' confirming nod he continued "This tag will remind me that I have somewhere to go, to belong if my relatives become too much and when James drives me crazy."

He glanced at the writing on the tag again, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Though it might be wise to change your address into something else. So that Muggles will see your address written on it, in case something like this ever happens again, but wizards, especially those like my parents won't see your address. Might piss them off a bit."

Remus smiled at Sirius concern for his safety and the smartness of the words he said. It would be safer for both of them. He could understand the reasoning behind Sirius' words for keeping it on completely, and felt honored that Sirius considered him and his family a "home" to go to. But he also understood that with the exception of James and probably Peter, no one else would understand. Especially not his family and if they ever managed to read the sign and read his own address on it, it would most likely lead to harsh consequences for Sirius and perhaps even himself.

"I could change the text in our names…kind of like a friendship tag." He suggested. "Put our names on the back while we keep Padfoot on the front?"

Sirius looked at him before smiling. "That's a great idea. But make it The Marauders will you. Just your names make it a bit too girly a thing for my taste. The Marauders also means you guy's and it will mean more. Cause The Marauders stands for our little family and if James finally turns Evans around then I won't feel bad that she's not included in my family."

Remus smiled at Sirius' reasoning and nodded before making the change.

And days later, when they all met up again at Hogwarts, it became clear to Remus that Sirius had indeed been punished for the collar, though not half as severely as he would have been if Remus' address had been visible for the monsters he called relatives.

They both spend a long time laughing at the perplex expressions on James and Peter's faces as the caught sight of the collar for the first time and read the text on the tag.

When they were finally done teasing their two best friends and told them the full story Remus was happy to know that he was right. Their friends did truly understand the sentiment behind Sirius' reasoning perfectly. And though none of them tried to match the display of bonds that Sirius had chosen to wear, it was easy to see they were all honored by it, like Remus himself was.

And in the end, they all had to admit that the collar did rather fit Sirius' attitude, both the ones he displayed to the world, what the girls had taken to calling his 'bad boy looks' and his true self, his loyal self that only his closest friends got to see.

But for Remus it was mostly a sign of belonging. Not only for Sirius, but for himself too and he whenever he felt down, whenever he felt like an outcast in the world, the moment his eyes caught sight of the collar around Sirius' neck he knew he had a place where he belonged too.

The end.

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_I got the idea for this story when I saw a dog being captured by the dog catcher today and the girl who owned it scream at the dog catcher because the dog had a collar. And I couldn't help but wonder…what if they ever got their hands on Sirius. And how would he react to being collared. And this short piece is what came out of those thoughts._

_I hope it was an enjoyable read and reviews are as always very loved._


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